Two major constraints in recruiting for ASPER are

1) the smallness of the office which limits the number of available new slots, and 2) the lack of entry-level professional positions, GS 5 - 9. Since the expansion in 1969, ASPER has recruited only five professionals and now has a total of twenty-five. have left the organization in the past year but three of them retired, and no present employee is due to retire in the near future. In addition, very few people have left ASPER over the years to work elsewhere.

Six professionals

The office, however, is not limited in its recruitment effort by the need for any specific background. Present employees represent a diversity of backgrounds, which include law, teaching and economics. The type of work done in ASPER requires the ability to write, to be creative and to work without supervision, but does not require any particular academic degree or set of experiFactors considered in determining if a person is qualified are: 1) amount of independence; 2) a sample of analytical writing; 3) a personal qualifications

ences.

statement, Standard Form 171, and 4) a personal inter

view by at least one staff member.

3. Summary of Interviews

The Task Force encountered a wide range of reactions

to ASPER's EEO Action Plan and to the subject of minority recruitment in general. These attitudes included deep

concern, anger, frustration, resignation and complete

passiveness.

Some employees suggested that more staff

time be devoted to minority recruitment. These additional efforts would include speaking at colleges and universities, leaving the National Office to interview minority candidates, and establishing working relationships with community organizations having knowledge of qualified minorities. It was suggested that minorities in the Department be given more consideration as potential ASPER employees. In addition, they could also be sources of information and communication for minority recruitment. Some employees were angered because of the lack of minority professionals but did not expect any positive action in this area. They were sharply critical of the original Action Plan, submitted in February of 1971, and

not much happier with the revised plan of April, 1971. The revised plan reserves "either one or two positions for minority persons" out of a total of seven, but does not specify whether these reserved positions are professional or nonprofessional. This distinction is important

because five of ASPER's nine secretaries were minorities

as of July 7, 1971, so that reserving a nonprofessional position for a minority would be unnecessary for EEO pur

poses.

Others regarded the new plan as a step in the right direction and felt that ASPER would begin to hire minority professionals in the near future. Even though the Action Plan does not specifically set aside a professional

position for a minority,2/ an unsuccessful attempt was

The am

made to fill a position in the Office of Evaluation wi th a minority before the end of fiscal year 1971. biguity with regards to filling this professional position is symptomatic of the entire plan (see Appendix D-1).

2/"We are prepared to reserve one professional posi

tion to be filled by a minority employee before the end of this fiscal year". FY '71 EEO Action Plan for ASPER, p.22.

The plan:

a، does not place responsibility for EEO with any one

b.

C.

d.

person--the memo concerning the plan states that

the "major responsibility for the success of this
plan lies with the supervisory staff"

does not guarantee that all staff members will be
informed of openings--the plan says that "an effort
will be made to advise" all employees but does not
provide that they will be definitely so advised;

does not point out whether the "one or two" positions being reserved for minorities next fiscal year are professional or nonprofessional, and this vagueness creates a serious loophole;

does not provide for adequate communication of EEO information--dissemination of such information is

to be done through formal and informal meetings

"with greater frequency," but not on a regular

basis.

The plan does, however, specify that the two summer hires, one summer aide and one junior professional, are

to be minorities.

Most ASPER employees believe that the present situ

ation was caused by a lack of affirmative action, not by any conscious discriminatory action. Those responsible for staffing the new office in 1969 were concerned with finding the most qualified people possible in the shortest period of time. They discovered that the easiest way to accomplish this goal was to recruit from among their professional acquaintances. Those recruiting were

white, and the result of this approach was that all those hired were white. This informal, passive approach to recruitment has become self-perpetuating, and several people summarized the recruitment effort as being "a sin

of omission, rather than commission."

The clerical interviews focused on the availability

There is at

of upgrading and promotional opportunities. present a clerical shortage in ASPER with the ratio being about one secretary for every three professionals.

Some

of the secretaries felt that this factor combined with the

nature of the work lessened the amount of opportunity for training during working hours. They were made to feel obligated to remain in the office in case their